Reviews by granger10:

This stout poured a darkish brown color that almost made it look like a brown ale. It smelled great though, with coffee and chocolate being the predominate aromas. At first sip there was a roasted malty taste to it almost a burnt taste to the malt. I also noticed some caramel along with a hint of fruit. As I went along on this big bottle (22 oz) I noticed more chocolate come through, esp. at the finish. I didnt detect any real bitterness or hoppiness which could have balanced the flavors a little. Altogether a stout with complex sweetness that is enjoyable to drink.

More User Reviews:

Brown pour. Looks lighter in color than most stouts, even milk stouts. Thin beige head on it. Average lacing.

Aroma was mild. Reach for it and you can smell caramel, chocolate roasted malt.

Substantial roasted malt in the flavor. A milk stout? Didn't taste like it. Isn't it supposed to have a small lactose character and not a harsh bitterness? Too much bittering hops and burnt malt not in proportion to the rest of the malt bill. Cocao like flavor, dry, mild chocolate implications, but it seems like they really burned the hell out of the chocolate malt here. Bitter, metallic, thin. Needs some heft. No aspect is terrible tasting, but it is average at best. Too much carbonation. Too much of everything that should not be in a milk stout.

This one seems to be getting harder and harder to find, had my first one back in the 90s I believe. College.

Dark coffee color, nice brown head at about an inch. A little spicy aroma, along with malt smells. Flavor is mild, a little smoky with touches of chocolate tones. Candy flavors, gravelly with an estery bubblegum impression. Sweetness is lacking but roastiness is lacking too. There's something missing mid-mouth, most of the action is at the finish. Almost like a spicy Porter with a dark color. Mouthfeel is somewhat lacking as well. Not really a fovorite of mine.

Only one place in all of Toledo was carrying this, so I had to give it a try. Notes are from a few days ago.

This one's black with deep, dark brown highlights. A tan head pours nicely, sticking around for a good long time and leaving some nice, patchy lacing.The smell is heavily of malts with some underlying sweetness. There was some dark chocolate on the nose along with a molasses/ black licorice that reminded me of a doppelbock. Interesting.There's a nice roasted malts flavor with some course coffee flavor right on the tongue. This brew is very much proper for the style in terms of the flavor. There's a decent bitterness to this one as well and it's pretty well-balanced. As I let it sit, I got more of a flavor reminiscent of semi-sweet chocolate chips. Alcohol is detectable but not overwhelming.This one isn't thin, but hard-core stout lovers might find it a bit so for the style. Otherwise it's about medium-bodied with a nice smoothness and a little crispness to it as well.This is one that's sort of under the radar but truly worth giving a shot.

M: smooth as can be, creamy and like a cloud in the mouth. Sets up to be a real easy drinker. I am getting possible light chalky, maybe hop, flavor in the mouth finish halfway through. Heavy viscous body

D: great smooth feel and drinks easy, these are the best assets of this boy. I was hoping for a bit more in the taste department, but it compensates in the feel and body characteristics, can't have it all I guess. Buy it and try it!

Haven't had one in a while so i grabbed one after randomly seeing it at fred meyer. BB ec 2010.

Pours a thick black nearly impenetrable black with a very nice super ice creamy light tan head that retains very well and leaves great lacing all the way down.

Wow! An excellent aroma. Lots of chocolate and sweetness coming through with some slight roasted malt and condensed milk. This is a much better start than i remember having in years past with this beer.

Wow. I am again shockingly suprised with this beer. An excellent flavor with nice big chocolatey and milk sweet flavor. Easy drinking but packed with flavor. There are some notes of irish dry stout here, but this is clearly a sweet stout all the same. The finish has a nice medium bitterness on it. Chocolate and sweetness linger in the aftertaste.

Mouthfeel is pretty solid. Good carbonation and a nice creamy viscosity without getting soupy.

Drinkability is pretty good. A shitload of flavor for a 5.7% brew, and I could easily have a couple of these.

Overall i really am shocked at the quality of this beer. I don't remember it being anywhere near this good. I will certainly be buying this again when i get the hankering for an irish dry like stout that doesn't have the mouthfeel of watered down milk. Highly recommended for a good example of the style and a solid drinkable easy stout.

Funny, this is probably the first stout I ever had, but had completely forgotten about it until I ran across a bottle at a grocery in Boulder Creek, CA. Best Before date is rubbed out. Poured from a 750mL "quart" or large "stubby" bottle into my Unibroue tulip.

Liquid is an opaque and distinctive shade of deep dark-brown, capped by a hefty finger of wheat colored cream which leaves behind superior sandy lacing with ornate patterns suspended in the phantasmagoric tears.

Aromatics are sweet and pungent, like coffee and cream, malt balls, and wheat.

Sweetened coffee, pale malt, and spelt on the palate. Very low roast levels. There is a hint of cocoa butter leading into a slightly nutty malt profile which dries up substantially in the finish. A kiss of bitterness in the aftertaste, suggesting roast malt, but also other roast grains, quinoa, and just a hint of grassy hops. Sweet, but if you are expecting a sugar bomb, look elsewhere.

Medium bodied, moderately creamy, and clean.

Many years and beers later, this is a touch rustic, but really as good if not better than I remember.

I had to rush out to try this beer when, in the same week, I heard it was endorsed by Krist Novoselic and dis-endorsed by some old family friends as being "too bitter". This distinctively styled 750 mL bottle is best before 20/DEC/15(!!) Pours black and a little on the thick side, with a distinct aroma of alcohol and oak (vanilla, even bourbon). I find the flavor on the mild side, actually, with very little carbonation, just a bit of grainy bitterness, and nice coffee finish. It's not as complex as your typical craft stout but I would absolutely drink this. And at this price per bottle, I could drink quite a lot. The oaky and ethanol/metallic notes remind me of much bigger Russian Imperial Stouts -- which this of course is not -- but I'm perhaps a little too easy to forive what might otherwise be defects, because they suggest to me one of my favorite styles.

Impressive, manly appearance as its completely black and thick. Almost like a dark syrup. The head is moderate in size, a finger thick with a nice light brown color. Good retention. Quite the looker in the glass.

It's got the stout taste down, but is slightly lacking in the milk stout category. Most of what you smell you also taste. Bittersweet chocolate and coffee, some smoke and roasted barley. However, I can't pick up much of the sweet milk. There's a hint of it, but the more assertive flavors mask it too much.

Makes for a good stout, but I need more sweetness and creaminess from a milk stout. For an instant, it's sweet; but then that initial burst of sweetness is overtaken by all things bitter (coffee, chocolate, hops). Has more of a coffee stout feel. It tries to be creamy and smooth but the bittering agents are just too much.

All things considered, particularly the categories that really matter (taste and feel), it's not quite as good as it looks or smells. Would make for a hell of a stout, but just lacking as a milk stout. Does BeerAdvocate have the style wrong?

Originally reviewed on November 2, 2005. 500mL Bottle. A somewhat clearish but mostly deep brown black pour, topped with two fingers of glorious coffee and cream colored head. Standard salty, dry and coffee roasted stout aroma, with a good waft of dry cocoa bean, roasted almonds and carob. Flavor is somewhat metallic, sharp and stinging, but contains slightly exotic spicy notes and a good dose of chocolate and coffee. Some bitter notes, with a harsh dark chocolate finish. No alcohol noted. Sea salt and coriander. Finish is sweet and salty, but has some oaky tones, but fades fast and leaves a slightly unpleasent sour smack. Overall, quite drinkable.

I used to drink this in college and hadn't had it in years until this weekend. This is a pretty good stout and comes in a huge bottle for a cheap price. I picked up a couple bottles at $2.99 each, for a 27oz bottle, no complaints here. Beer is very dark, basically black, with a nice tan head. The taste on this beer changes subtly as you get into it. At first sip, I found it very roasty, somewhat sour. Almost a little off-putting. After a few more sips, it becomes very mellow, it may just be that your tastebuds get used to the roasted flavor, or it could have been from warming up a bit in the glass. It has a big mouthfeel, carbonation on the lower side. Very drinkable once you get a little way into it. For the price, it deserves some shelf space in the fridge as a quality stout that doesn't skimp on quantity.

When this beer was poured into my glass, it poured with a quick dissolving tan head with fine-medium bubbles. There was not much in the way of lacing with this beer. There was not an overpowering coffee taste for a stout. It has a smooth taste to it and it seemed to be a little bit on the thin and watery side in my opinion.

750 ml bottle, best before July 2, 2010 stamped on the bottle. Served in a nonic pint glass, the beer pours dark brown with about an inch frothy tan head. The head didn't stay around for too long, but this brew has a lot of lacing. Aroma is roasted malt, milk and bittersweet chocolate, and a bit of coffee. Overall it's a mostly sweet aroma. Taste is similar to the aroma, but with the addition of some burnt/charred malt and a little bit of licorice. Nice balance between the bitter and sweet flavors. Mouthfeel/body is medium, it is a bit thin for a stout but it's not watery at all. It's somewhat creamy and coating with good carbonation. Drinkability is good, it's easy and enjoyable to drink. Not a bad brew, it's definitely worth a try!